


The Return of John Man

by Notmarysue



Category: Nightmare Time - Team StarKid, The Guy Who Didn't Like Musicals - Team StarKid
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Canon-Typical Violence, Canonical Character Death, F/M, Fake Marriage, Fake/Pretend Relationship, Fix-It, Fix-It of Sorts, Fluff, Fluff and Hurt/Comfort, Friendship, Insults, Mild Blood, Mild Hurt/Comfort, Mild Language, Verbal Abuse
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-13
Updated: 2020-10-13
Packaged: 2021-03-07 16:27:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,377
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26990617
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Notmarysue/pseuds/Notmarysue
Summary: Trapped alone and afraid in the woods, Lucy Stockworth is sure she's going to die, when an unlikely saviour comes to her aid. He's no ape man, but he'll do just fine.
Relationships: Jonathan Brisby & Lucy Stockwood
Comments: 11
Kudos: 22





	The Return of John Man

It wasn’t supposed to end like this. Lucy had never been sure how her search would ultimately conclude, but with her dying in a tree at the hands of a crazed professor had never been one of the considered options. Jonathan was right. This had been a fruitless endeavour. She was going to die for a pipe dream.

“Lucy. Oh Lucy.” Hidgens taunted from below. Her arms were growing tired. Her legs were shaking from her injury. The cold wind blew over her as she clung onto the branch for dear life. She was clammy and starting to sweat. Nausea filled her as the world blurred in and out of focus. If the branches didn’t betray her, soon her body surely was. “Why don’t you just give up? There’s nothing for you here. There’s nothing for you anywhere. Your fiancée is gone, your precious Konk is dead. You’ve wasted your whole life searching for a fairy tale. If you went back to England now, you’d be nothing but a laughingstock. Then again, I guess you always were, weren’t you?”

Lucy couldn’t see him, but she could sense his sickening smirk. The truth hit like a bullet. All these years, all those people that humoured her. What must they have said about her behind her back? She tightened her aching limbs around the branches. She was going to live, even if it was out of spite.

“It’s okay, dear Lucy. I can wait. I can wait for the rest of your li-“ She heard of loud thud, followed by the snap of twigs. Lucy moved her head as far she could to try and get a view of what was going on. Down on the ground was Hidgens, either dead or unconscious, and in the corner of her eye, just outside her field of vision, was a tall blurry figure, wielding a hunting rifle like a baseball bat.

“Don’t you ever call me a crumpet again, you yankee doodle dick.” Jonathan shouted.

“John.” Lucy cried out.

“It’s okay. You can come down. You’re safe.” Jonathan called out.

“John, I-“ The branch moaned and cracked beneath her. She tried to reach up and pull herself to another, but it was too late. She screamed as she fell through the air, hurtling towards the ground. John through the gun aside and raced closer with open arms. She landed safely into them, breaking the momentum, but neither of them had been fully prepared and gravity instantly set in. Both of them fell to the forest floor in a heap.

“Oh my God.” Lucy exclaimed as she scrambled to a kneeling position. She looked at John, who lay groaning on the ground. The man was a mess. His waistcoat was muddy. His shirt untucked and more alarmingly bloody soaked. His normally well-groomed hair was ruffled in all directions and his face was as white as a sheet. “Are you okay? John, please talk to me.”

“I’m perfectly fine, my dear.” John grumbled as he forced himself it a sitting position. “I’m just glad you didn’t land on anything import-“

He was cut off by Lucy throwing her arms around him. John froze. She hugged him tightly, gently sobbing against him. Unsure of what do, he awkwardly patted her on the back, and she finally loosened her grip.

“What happened?” Lucy sniffed as she let go. “I thought you were dead.”

“So did I. It’s a rather surreal thing to wake up from. Luckily, the professor didn’t think it prudent to check my pulse.”

“Yes.” Lucy gulped. “Jonathan, I’m so sorry. You right, this was so stupid. I should have listened, I should have-“

“Hush now, don’t be ridiculous.” John replied softly. “I shouldn’t have been so dismissive of you. If I had taken the time to listen and learn more about this…ape man, maybe even I had come with you on these trips, then perhaps we could have found away to avoid these kinds of traps together.”

“Perhaps. I guess we both need to work on the whole communication thing.” Lucy smiled weakly.

“Indeed.” John nodded. They both sat in the heavy silence, looking over the golden leaves falling all around them. “This is kind of awkward now isn’t it?”

“It is rather, yes.”

“I heard what you said to the professor, about only marrying me for my money.”

“Oh Jonathan, I’m sorry. I know it’s wrong, I knew the whole time. I-I just didn’t know else to do.”

“You could have just asked for help. I did have an inkling though. A bright young woman falling for a boring man like me. It never did make too much sense.” He sighed.

“Oh Jonathan, don’t say that.”

“Well it’s true. If it makes you feel any better, you were also right about me being in it for the title. I mean I don’t get me wrong, you’re an amazing lady. You’re just…not my type.”

“Yes. I did wonder.”

“It just felt a little weird walking around high society as ‘Mr’ Brisby. I always felt sort of out of place.” He explained.

“Trust me, I know that feeling.”

“So, I guess neither of really had our heart in it.”

“I suppose not.”

“Gosh, this is going to be quite a scandal when we get back home. Me shot, the wedding off. You know how those busy bodies like to gossip.” John laughed.

“Well…I don’t see why it _has_ to be off.” Lucy pondered. “I mean…nothing has changed really. We both still have something the other wants, we’re just aware of it now.”

“Really? You still want the money to come back here?” John asked.

“Perhaps not.” She mumbled. “But there’s not just that. There’s lots of advantages to staying together. There would be no scandal. Our parents would never bother us about settling down again. We could rub our expert flower arrangements in Lady Brighton’s face.”

“I do enjoy showing up Lady Brighton.” John nodded. “So what? We’d just pretend?”

“We were just pretending before.” Lucy reminded him. “It just won’t need to be twenty-four seven now. We can go out into the world, do our little act, and then we can come to the safety of our home as…friends.”

“Friends.” John smiled. “Well then.” He shifted onto one knee and reached into his pocket to retrieve the shining silver ring.

“Oh John, you kept it.” Lucy beamed.

“Of course I did. Now, Lucy Stockwood, will you do me the honour of being my friend slash fake fiancée…a-again?”

“Mr Brisby I’d be delighted.” She smiled as he slipped the ring onto her finger.

“This such a relief.” He said as he lowered himself into a more comfortable kneeling position. “It’ll be nice to have some good company around. When we’re not pretending to be in love and you’re not accidentally nearly getting me killed in the woods, you’re a very interesting person, and this might be the blood loss talking, but a very beautiful person as well. Perhaps today more than any other day.”

“Aw, Jonathan.” She blushed. “You’re not bad looking yourself. Though no Konk, of course.” She nudged playfully.

“Quite.” He laughed. “That being said I have lost quite a bit of blood. I _do_ need to go to a hospital.”

“Oh right. Yes.” Lucy realised. She got up and offered her hand to Jonathan, gently pulling him to his feet. They limped through the woods, heading back to society. Lucy took one last look back at the golden trees. For a brief second, a sadness ran through her. She couldn’t shake the feeling that she would never come back to Hatchetfield. That soon there wouldn’t be a Hatchetfield at all. And then, just as quickly, the feeling was gone. She continued forward, her friend by her side. Perhaps the Wooly Foot would never be found, but that was okay. Hatchetfield’s mysteries were never meant to be solved.

In the distance, from the darkness of the bushes, two glowing yellow eyes peered out. They fixed on the retreating couple as they walked back towards the town. The creature’s lips formed into a satisfied smile as they got further away. The girl in the tree was safe. She would be for the rest of her life.


End file.
